BK Aura? I'm guessing you mean Benjamin Moore? Aura is only a paint. They don't make a stain that I'm aware of. Usually it is true that when a paint or stain fails, it is due to poor prep and not the actual stain/paint itself, though using a high quality product is also important.

sorry about the typo I do mean BM I think the painter who was giving me the estimate doesn't understand I want a solid color stain. any idea about the solid stains for BM and MS?

I don't know about Martin Senour, but the BM Super Spec acrylic stain is pretty good.

Behr Solid Color Stain is excellant.

Thanks to all of you for your comments, paintguy, I'll relook at the BM stain . I have been told Consumer Reports probably doesn't have anything on Martin S. because CR assessments come from the amount of usage, not necessarily just the quality????That I should go to the MS website to check out their stains....

I think you are better off checking out painters websites, websites like this, etc. than you are relying on ratings from Consumer Reports. I have never met one single painter in all my life that actually endorses those rankings. Homeowners may, but the average homeowner demands far less from a coating than a real pro. The ratings are based on value, which means the price will always get figured into how high of a rating the paint gets. My opinion has always been that the biggest part of a paintjob is the labor in applying the paint...the actual price of the paint itself is really minor when you look at the entire scope (price) of the job. Therefore, I'm not looking to save money on paint on the front end because if I can get 2-3 more years of service from a coating because I used something good, then I'm going to do that every time. Also, Consumer Reports generally does not look at regional brands because they may not be available nationwide so not everyone can get them. The regional manufacturers are usually the best paint makers around. I will use a C2 exterior acrylic stain or Maxum 2 which is made by Coronado. Benjamin Moore would be my third choice. C2 and Coronado brands are probably not ranked by Consumer Reports.